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Monday, November 19, 2012

Time to Pop a Cap in the Term "Drive-by Genealogist"

My issue
isn’t necessarily with this article in particular; it’s the message in it that
I keep seeing. This piece just happened to be the last place I saw it.

There’s
a baffling backlash toward those just discovering their interest in family
history. I don’t believe anyone is anti-newbie, but there’s this bizarre
assumption that their first efforts are automatically flawed.

Beginners
are barely in the door of the Church of Genealogy and we have people telling
them they’re not good enough to be here.

Naturally,
I have a few things to say about this:

Everyone was once new…

…and
sometimes the more established genealogists forget that. My home base is the
Clayton Genealogy Library in Houston. I often watch people come through those
doors for the first time. It’s a big place. It’s scary to those who don’t
frequent libraries. Some folks may even feel like they’re not smart enough or
tech savvy enough to be there.

The new
folks walk sheepishly up to the reference desk and ask their first question in
their family history journey. Those librarians—bless them—listen patiently,
then get these new family historians the information they need. They help them
get started on the computers or refer them to the best beginner books on the
shelf.

What
would happen if an intimidated beginner read this newspaper article? Would they
even walk through the door? No. They’d get in the car or on the bus and go back
home. Their families’ histories, photos and stories may be lost forever.

Suggesting
people need a license to research is like throwing a citation book at the head
of a new library visitor the minute he or she walks through the door. What
would that accomplish? We need to get the new genealogists in the building. We
need to show them how to start their journey and let them discover their own
treasures. That’s part of being new. You can’t bombard beginners with advanced
skills in any task, even genealogy.

The joy-ride analogy is an insult.

Ancestry.com
runs commercials tempting television viewers to use their product. That’s what
companies do. They try to get you to use their products. Many people might see
Ancestry.com’s commercial and be curious about their ancestors. They could
start their own tree and add photos and stories that have never been online.
This is not a bad thing! I find it insulting that the article author assumes
new Ancestry.com users will “leave a mess for someone else to clean up.” Since
when is another person’s family history a mess?

We’re all here for different
reasons.

You’re
reason for researching family history is different than mine. We all have
different goals and levels of dedication. Some might want to publish their findings;
others might be content with just an online family tree. Some are
professionals. Some have a genealogy hobby. It doesn’t matter why others do
genealogy, so focus on you. The only thing that is important is that you enjoy
family history they way you want to. Do not worry about anyone else.

We don’t need no stinkin’ sources.

Hear me
out before you get your bloomers in a wad. You do not need to list sources and
cite records when you do your family history. The world will still keep spinning.
However, I strongly suggest that you do, because later on you’ll wish you did.
Trust me on this.

Not
everyone cites their sources. So what? That’s their business. When I see
unsourced genealogy facts on the Internet, I use clues and details in that information to
help me attain a record of the event because that’s how I approach my own
research. It is not my place to lecture the person who published the
information. I can take it or leave it (and I’ve left a lot). Our reasons for
doing genealogy are different. It is not your job to make everyone record their
own family’s history to your standards.

I
understand that the intent of the article is to lessen inaccuracies and
incorrect information online, but have you seen the Internet? I mean...have you
seen it? It’s one big giant ball of nonsense. Why is it our duty to determine
what gets published there? It’s not. If you find a valuable genealogical tidbit
on Internet, use your own skills to determine its accuracy then do with it as
you wish.

We don’t know what we don’t know
about research.

I love
research. So much that I went back to school and studied all about it. There is
so much to the concept of “research” that is never touched in genealogy. If one
actually needed a license to research or publish, none of us would pass the
test. Arguments over qualifications, post nominals, and even the definition of
the word “professionalism” have been hashed to death in professional genealogy
circles. That won’t be happening here. Move on.

Haters gonna hate.

Genealogy
is a mean friend. Sad but true. Folks are quick to correct others, and even harmless
differences are made to look like errors. The article that spawned
this blog post is a perfect example: that somehow if you don’t do it one way then
it is automatically wrong. The piece takes a huge swipe at beginning
genealogists…and it is not fair.

The
article makes good points on the importance of evidence and establishing proof.
However, those issues are buried below a snarky statement where new genealogists
(who found their way because of a television commercial) are equated to gangbangers.
Really? This is how you welcome people into the field? Do you really think they’ll
hear your message in the middle if you’ve insulted them up front? I’m done
discussing the article. It’s an old argument that does more elitist, divisive
damage than good.

This.

Researching
your family history is a rewarding experience. I’d even go so far as to say it
is life changing. Learning about ancestors gives our lives purpose and reminds
us what is important.

I want
everyone to research their family history. I want everyone to go online and
search for information. I want everyone to continue that research offline. I want
everyone to publish if they feel comfortable doing so. You’ll find that the
search isn’t as easy as it looks on TV, but that’s ok. Once you find that juicy
genealogical tidbit about great-grandpa, you’ll be hooked. You’ll find cousins.
You’ll find friends that share your interest. You’ll find depth and definition
in your own life.

Professional,
hobbyist, or something else….does it really matter? No. So long as you’re doing
what you enjoy. Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise. Just as in other
parts of life, sometimes people need to say things to make themselves feel
superior. It’s like being in high school all over again. Don’t go back to high
school, and don’t let others drag you to that place.

There
are no dumb genealogy questions. Ask away about family history. There are lots
of friendly people out there who are willing to help. Seek out the librarians,
local genealogy societies and online resources. Heck, ask me a question. I
probably won’t know the answer, but I can get you in touch with someone who
will.

New genealogists:
welcome…and please, please, PLEASE join our ranks. It doesn’t matter how much
computer or research experience you have. Whether genealogy is just a casual
hobby or a full-time obsession, we are very happy to have you here online and
in-person in the genealogy sandbox. Your ancestors’ stories need to be told,
and you deserve the reward of discovering their tales.

One last detail

I wrote
this piece for my own therapy. Please do not use the comment section to debate
or argue, as this is my blog and I’m not in the mood for a 10-paragraph
diatribe on the definition professionalism. Severe sinus pain has made me
Hulk-level annoyed at everything. Thanks.

We're all beginners in one way or another aren't we? I don't have any Italian ancestors, so I'd be a beginner in that area...and many others, too. "Beginner" is not a bad word. Guess I just got tired of reading that it is. Onward together!

Thank you, Amy! Newbies can feel so intimidated. The enthusiasm of a beginner should be a breath of fresh air and serve as a reminder of our own first feelings. I am so happy you voiced your opinion on this.

I agree, Amy. Even when we aren't technically beginners anymore, we are still beginners in SOMETHING ... research in a different area of the world, a different record type, etc.

I applaud those in the genealogy community who try to help the beginners (and I try to do the same when I feel qualified), and I have gotten a lot of non-judgmental help from a lot of people. I'm not afraid to ask anymore. That article would make me afraid to ask anything. Maybe they need to find a friendlier sandbox.

Glad you wrote this! We need to keep growing the base and no one starts out an expert. Not even Elizabeth and I'm sure she'd be the first to tell you so. I also wonder if those who insult those who are not "experts" are as good as they feel they are. If you want others to be better, publish so people can strive to follow your example. Teach so others can learn. One of my pet peeves, indeed.

Thanks so much for your comments and support. The reason ESM is one of my favorites is that she leads by example. No stern lectures or negativity on her part. She makes people want to be better genealogists and I think we can all learn from that teaching style.

Thank you - one always needs to remember our INTENT in our writings, particularly if they re getting circulated (gasp!) to a wide audience. I've always felt very welcomed and encouraged by those in the genealogy community on G+ and geneabloggers. Cheers! (I'm sure a little wine is in order).

My rant is this: I dislike the term "drive-by" to refer to anything other than its original meaning: Murder. A drive-by is a type of shooting, one that often kills innocent people. It's not a type of genealogist, or anything else. (And I totally realize that article authors almost never choose their own headlines, so no knock on Sharon Tate Moody).

On the rest...I'm over the whole argument. I've had a rough year, and I only wish I had the energy to care what people are putting on Ancestry or whether they're using the term "proof" correctly. I just don't have the stomach for this crap anymore.

Agreed on the "drive-by" term, Kerry. I don't think people quite understand it's meaning....and lucky you if you don't because that means you haven't been exposed to gang activity. Whatever the case, it's not a good term for describing anything in genealogy.

Great post Amy. I made loads of mistakes when starting out. If someone had discouraged me, I wouldn't have changed career, so I could become a librarian who helps people with their family history research.

Amy,Thank You, Bless You. For days I was trying to figure how to say it without sounded to horrid. Seonald says she made many mistakes starting, heck I still make mistakes 50 years later. My side bar is MOM always said,"You learn from your mistakes" . I am still learning, Thank You, Amen and Thanksgiving Blessings.

Great post, Amy! I haven't read the article yet and can only imagine what's in it based on your post. Regardless of the original that prompted this post, much of what you read needs to be said. Plain and simple...we all have to start somewhere. I was fortunate enough to have met some great people (mainly geneabloggers) who were very helpful when I first started. If not for these people, I would not be were I am today, just five short years later. I try to pay it forward whenever I can. Your post also reminded me of two blog post drafts I started about a month ago that I have not had time to finish...me thinks now would be a good time to finish and post them. Heading off to read the original article...hope I've allowed enough time for my anti-anxiety meds to kick cuz I get the feeling I'm goona need 'em :)

Thankyou for your post. I was born a fortunate offspring into this world for two reasons. One, I lived for 5 years with my maternal grandparents during while my mother was between husbands. My grandmother told me stories of what life was like when she was growing up in the "Forks", but my Grandfather hailed from a proud southern family and knew a great deal about his roots, facts, stories and things that had been passed down for generations. This was a man who had been born in the early part of the 1900's and lived until 1997. His great-grandfather had lived until I was 15 and full of stories himself. My Grandpa's grandmother had been born prior to the Civil War and lived well into the 1930's, after Papa was married with children of his own. She had lived an interesting life, but knew her husbands grandparents, and had cleaned house for the grand lady from Virginia, long before she married her grandson. She told her children and grandchildren stories and facts, that my grandfather passed to me. I have been busy recording these memories, now that I have reached the half-century point in my existence, for future generations, and collecting documents to back them up. There were people who may not have been documented, or barely. My great-great grandmother herself appears in the 1860 census as a child, her father's estate papers, and then totally escapes the 1870 and 1880 census and does not reappear until 1900 with her family. Another ancestress only appears in a marriage license, since there are no 1890 censuses available here. She was born in 1882, after the 1880 census, she married at 17 and then died of childbirth or shortly afterward of something else and did not appear in the 1900 census. Some folks made great waves in history, others merely a trickle.

My other good fortune was a Dad who had dabbled in genealogy. He and his second wife were pioneers in locating old graveyards locally. He had quite a bit of information on portions of his family, his surname one, to be exact, and a little on the female lines. I have been busy working on the rest of his family. They are a fascinating bunch.

While I have been able to corroborate most of my Dad and Grandfathers information, I have found some mistakes in it. One story Papaw told of a mistress of a Great-great Uncle, turned out to probably have been the mistress of his grandfather, not his grandfather's uncle. In one of my Dad's lines, he had the right tree, but the wrong limb. One of his maternal grandmother's had a cousin 4 years older with the same name, but he had the correct ancestors beyond those 2 generations, and it fell in place.

All endeavors are worthy and newcomers will get it. If they enter what they know, they will eventually come to terms with finding that correct link, that matching documentation, or that brick wall that just won't come down. And maybe someone entering from a fresh angle or a different side may just be that bearer of information who can break down other brick walls. They may be the one who inherited great-grandma's cedar chest with that old bible in it, or those old photographs with the writing on the back with that youngest child who was given to someone else to raise after the mother died, who has been a brickwall for his or her descendants due to lack of documentation.

Great post. Glad to see someone articulate the sentiment. I would like people to cite their sources, now that I've learned how important they are. I emphasize, now that I've learned how important they are. I didn't in the past. But it takes dipping your feet in the water a bit before you're every ready to learn to swim. It takes learning to dog paddle before you can do a front crawl. It takes doing the crawl wrong before you can do it right. And really, is there only one right? My son is a perfect example of breaking the rules. He'd prefer to swim on his back.

Anyway. Thanks for letting us in on your therapy. I hope the sinuses subside.

As a newbie, thank you for your post! I know I don't cite my sources properly but you know what, it's how I do it and that's all that matters to me. If I spent too much time trying to do it perfectly I'd lose interest in a hurry. And I'm so thankful for people like you who have helped me along the way.

Some of the comments on that article make me want to scream--especially the one about restricting archival access to the most trusted researchers. Yes, let's prevent anyone with an interest in information from being able to access it. That sounds like a GREAT idea. *smh*

It's bad enough that doors to libraries and archives are being shut due to lack of funding, and that records are being restricted through fear of identity theft and invasion of privacy. The elitist attitude that came across in Ms. Moody's article would have made me think twice if I were considering looking into my tree for the first time.

Last week I connected with the granddaughter of my great-grandfather's brother, one of my "lost" people. She filled in some immigration gaps, and sent me a photo. By the way, she's a newbie. And I found her because she was posting and hunting in Ancestry. She doesn't have all her facts right. But by golly, she's out there looking, and I'm glad she is!

Amy, my blood boiled for several hours after reading that article. But like so many others I am exhausted by this mentality. We can't change the haters but we can drown them out. There are enough of us on the Internet who are more than willing to help those who are struggling to research their family history. I encourage everyone to be gracious, empathetic and generous to our newcomers, roll out the welcome mat and let's throw those doors wide open to everyone, and I mean everyone!!

Being part of the younger genealogists, I'm usually asked at seminars/conferences if I've passed my 2nd or 3rd Great Grandparents yet. I'll reply "Yes. Quite a bit ago." but rarely mention that I have 20 years of research under my belt at 32.

Excellent post! I'm just starting out and no one told there was a single definition of genealogist or family historian or any of the terms noted. There's precision and care in research of any sort and there's sloppiness. People with any discernment will recognize the difference and simply ignore work that isn't helpful to them.

License indeed!

As I said over there, because I don't like cyberbullies, and that's how I perceive that piece, if you want to inform people then you don't take an insulting tone. That could have been a helpful article, a way to define terms for others. Instead, it was off putting in the extreme.

I've been researching my family history seriously for about 12 years. I made mistakes when I started and now that I know, I TRY not to make them again. And I learned from making them, not from another genealogist's mistakes. In that way, it's a lot like life. Genealogy societies often come off as being elitist and I am working to make our society accessible to anyone who wants to know a little more or a lot more about their family history. I can guide them a little and we can learn together. We need to promote our societies as "sharing" organizations because "the more the merrier"!

Great post. One of the things I love about genealogy is the sharing,where would I be but for those with more experience guiding me. I also get very excited when I come across someone who is just starting on their family history, and I see that glint come into their eyes as they start to discover their ancestors. We must be accepting of all levels of researching skills and remember we all started somewhere.

One must never forget what it feels like to be 'new' at something:new kid in school, new at a job, new at genealogy! Reach out your hand, offer help and the reward comes back tenfold! Genealogy Societies all over need to read your message and they may figure out why their memberships are declining! Great job on the article and a message to be heeded by all the 'professionals!'

One must never forget what it feels like to be 'new' at something:new kid in school, new at a job, new at genealogy! Reach out your hand, offer help and the reward comes back tenfold! Genealogy Societies all over need to read your message and they may figure out why their memberships are declining! Great job on the article and a message to be heeded by all the 'professionals!'

I'm one of those who likes to encourage new family historians and genealogists to cite their sources, and I put it in the context of "Don't make the mistakes I made!" I made some doozies when I was new! And I let them know that they'll make their own mistakes, anyway, as that's how they'll learn. I think there is a middle ground where we can gently and with humor and empathy bring the newcomers along, hopefully helping them avoid some of the pains we ourselves went through. But we also have to let them make their own mistakes so that they will learn -- and will have stories to share with good humor with the next generation of new arrivals. We don't have to be geneaNazis about it, though. Well said.